IN THE STATE OF DENMARK 165 



agility, while the invisible student mixed in, and 

 frightened Sir Lueiiis with surreptitious pinches and 

 pokings, and kept the audience in ecstasy. The happy 

 ending came inevitably. Sir Lucius was, to our 

 extreme regret, expelled from the stage in a state of 

 pulp, the student took off his goloshes and became 

 visible, and the curtain ultimately fell on his mild 

 embrace of the speechless heroine, and the bene- 

 dictions of grandmamma. 



The acting was, as we have said, super-excellent 

 throughout, but oh, Mr. Archer, are these the shudder- 

 ing realities of the grim Scandinavian drama ? 



We went home, and felt virtuous, but very old. 



XI 



It was one evening when I was surveying the 

 street, previous to throwing the tea-leaves out of 

 the window, that I suggested that we should try 

 the pension at the corner, with the windows overlook- 

 ing the Kongen's Ny Torv. My cousin leaned out of 

 the window, with the shoe to which she had been 

 applying Guiche's varnish still on her hand, and 

 considered the matter, with gesticulations of the 

 shoe. 



Next day we went. The pension lady had just 

 room for us, so she informed us in good English, 

 and at five o'clock we climbed some thousand stairs 

 to the room where our places had been fitted into a 

 long dinner-table. Every one else was seated-, and 

 nibbling expectantly at their extremely handsome 

 portions of bread ; it was obvious at a glance that 

 our country people were in the majority, and that 

 an excessive propriety prevailed. On my left was a 

 grey-haired lady sufiCering from a heavy cold, on 



